By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) returned from a three-day visit to Singapore yesterday afternoon, calling the trip fruitful and successful.
Speaking at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Su did not provide any details of his trip, except to say that he had met with many politicians in the city-state and exchanged opinions
Local media cited sources as saying that Su had met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and his father, former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), but the DPP declined to confirm the reports.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) denied a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that said Su had sent aides to Bangkok to meet with Chinese officials in a bid to mend relations after Beijing was angered by Su’s proposal for a democratic alliance in East Asia, which he made during a visit to Japan in February.
“The DPP condemns the false and groundless report,” Lin said.
Meanwhile, at the DPP’s Central Standing Committee weekly meeting, members discussed the situation in North Korea and H7N9 avian influenza.
Former premier Yu Shyi-kun, acting chair of the weekly meeting in place of Su, urged North Korea to remain calm and resolve differences through dialogue as any provocative act endangers peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Yu called on China, North Korea’s long-time ally, to exercise its influence with its neighbor and lower tension in the region.
He also accused China of violating a cross-strait agreement on medical cooperation by failing to notify Taiwan immediately after the outbreak of H7N9 avian influenza last month.
He called on Beijing to abide by the pact and provide Taiwan with the latest information about its H7N9 cases.